University of Virginia Library

Admissions Blamed

Robert Williams, a third year
law student and President of the
Council has laid the blame for the
scarcity of Negro students on the
University's admissions board. Mr.
Williams says that the entrance
standards at the University favor
the white middle class student and
that the time has now come for
these standards to be reviewed and
renewed.

Backing his assertions Mr.
Williams cited the work of
Professor DeVito of Emory
University. The experiment
consisted of taking black students
with below average College Board
scores and allowing them to
participate in the summer session.
Their achievement as demonstrated
by their grades was inconsistent
with their Board scores. Mr.
DeVito's conclusion was that the
College Entrance Examinations are
culturally biased.

Drawing from Mr. DeVito's
work, the Human Relations Council
advocates abandoning the use of
board scores as criteria for
admission to universities and
substituting in their place the
individual's class standing, teacher's
recommendations and his
participation in school activities.

Relative to the problem of
recruiting black students, Mr.
Williams pointed out, is the
shortage of negro faculty members
and the lack of a black recruiter in
the Admissions office.